Alive With the Glory of Love
by Unconditionally Yours
Summary: "I could sleep on the floor, I have no probl-" Jean started. Ricky cut him off. "We could share the bed." He smiled.


Jean didn't remember what was going through his mind when Ricky Bobby kissed him. He didn't know why he broke the kiss before Ricky did, either. He kept telling himself he did because of Gregory, but something in the back of his mind said otherwise. He had seen the footage of the kiss later on that day. He had never kissed Gregory like that, or something along the lines of that is what Gregory had screamed at him in French. Jean wasn't shocked when Gregory asked for a divorce. And even then, his mind wandered off to Ricky Bobby. Ricky Bobby was living at his mothers... again. He wouldn't have blamed Susan if she had said she left him because of his crazy family, or because he'd rather focus on winning races than starting a new relationship with her, but that wasn't the case. "I can't live a lie, Ricky. I can't be in a relationship where I'm second best. I can't be with you, loving you, when you love someone else more." She said, packing her bags. "I don't love Carley anymore!" He shouted, feeling his temper rising. Susan stopped packing to turn around and face him. "You really don't know, do you?" She laughed sadly and returned to packing her bags. "Well, Ricky, one day, you'll see who you've been pining for. It's just sad to see that you're the only one who doesn't know yet." Ricky left before she finished packing. The kids had packed already and he had enough money to buy a new wardrobe. She could keep the house, because apparently his love wasn't good enough for her. After awhile, Ricky realized it was for the best. Walker and T.R. loved their grandmother, and without Susan around to distract him, he could focus on winning all the races. Well, other than the reoccuring thoughts of his French rival. He couldn't tell you what was going through his mind when he swatted Jean's hand away and instead kissed him. And Ricky honestly didn't know what was worse: dreaming of Jean at night, or having daydreams of kissing him again. Both, he decided, were horrible. Or maybe it was the fact he found himself enjoying the dreams. He had no place to go in America, but Jean refused to go back to Paris. There was nothing for him there anymore; there was nothing for him anywhere. He was staying at a cheap hotel, locking himself in his room and watching NASCAR, hoping to get a glimpse of Ricky. He wanted so badly to race again, but he was a man of his word and he had promised Ricky that he would retire from racing. Although, he did promise that he would go back to France... A familiar southern drawl broke him out of his thoughts. He sat up and smiled as he saw Ricky's face on the screen. Jean was surprised to see that he was alone, with no girlfriend or his best friend or even his mother and children. Fortunately, the reporter was also curious to why he was standing alone, and once the question was asked, Ricky smiled. "Ah, Susan dumped me. Seems I didn't love her enough as she wanted. Cal and Carley... I think they went to Hawaii for their first win celebration, and my kids are with my Momma, and they're at the church doin' charity work." The screen flashed to the fat, red face of the reporter, which Jean scowled at. "And how are you dealing with all the wins you've been getting since you defeated Jean Girard at Talladega?" Ricky's face popped back up on the screen, and Jean leaned in forward, curious to his answer. "Well, it's a bit boring without Jean here, I must say. No one can give me a good satisfaction of a job well done than beating that Frenchie fair and square." Ricky smiled at the camera and Jean sat back, smiling at the t.v. The reporter went on about how it wasn't really a win, and technically he didn't defeat Jean, but Ricky shrugged it off. "If the win didn't satisfy his need to be defeated, then the kiss should've sent him back to France. He is a man of his word, and I can tell you that from experience." Ricky chuckled and walked away, leaving the reporter baffled and sputtering. Jean smiled to himself and shook his head. Ricky had almost no sense of humiliation. Ricky was confused. He racked his brains night and day, but he couldn't see the truth to Susan's words. Who could he possibly love more than Susan? Carley was out, seeing as she only wanted a winner and used Ricky only to that of her advantage, and he hadn't seen any other woman except Susan since his and Carley's divorce. "Son, are you sick?" Lucy asked her son as he picked at the eggs she had just given him. Ricky shook his head and stood up. "Momma, I'm goin' for a walk." Lucy stood up to stop her son, but he was halfway down the block before she could even get a word out. Ricky didn't know where he was going, but that didn't stop him from getting there as quickly as possible. He crossed the street without looking and heard a screech of tires coming to a stop on the left of him. The driver got out of the car and stood amazed staring at Ricky. The southern man looked up, ready to cuss out the driver, but his anger melted away as he stared into the big, brown eyes of his rival, and the only man he had ever kissed. Jean Girard was still in America. "Jean Girard?" Ricky's voice sounded angry, and Jean felt as if he would cry. "Bonjour, Ricky." He said, leaning against his car and smiling at Ricky's confused face. "I... I thought you went back to France." Ricky managed to choke out. He felt his face get hot and Jean smiled wider. "I changed my mind." Jean lied. "I'm staying at an 'otel down in the city." Ricky raised his eyebrows. "What happened to your house?" Jean shifted his eyes. "Gregory returned to France, and it was his money, so I'm not allowed to stay there anymore." He looked back at Ricky, who shoved his hands in his pants pockets. "Why don't you just stay with me, then?" It would be an understatement to say that Lucy was only surprised when her son walked in with the gay French man. She dropped the stack of plates she was holding, which made a horrible crash as they hit the floor into dozens of pieces. Jean leapt forward to help pick up the pieces, feeling as if he was the cause of the damage. T.R. and Walker ran into the room to see what the noise was, and when they saw Jean's face, the two boys were silent like never before. "Momma, boys, this is my..." He looked at Jean, who stood up slowly. "My friend, Jean." Jean smiled and held his hand out for Lucy. Lucy just smiled and hugged Jean. "Momma, Jean needs somewhere to stay." She turned to Ricky and back to Jean and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're welcome here, darlin'." Jean never would've thought he'd be staying with Ricky Bobby. If anyone could turn him into a stereotypical gay guy, it was him. He knew Ricky was probably only being nice, but he couldn't help but hope that maybe Ricky could love him back. He blushed at the thought and turned around. Ricky's sons were asleep on the couch and Lucy was carefully placing blankets over them. He leant against the wall and watched her tuck them in, and when she looked up, she had the understanding smile of a mother on her face. She walked over to Jean with her arms crossed. "I used to tuck Ricky in too. Sometimes I still do." She chuckled. Jean smiled, but had nothing to say. She nodded in understanding and hugged him goodnight. Ricky walked into the room and Lucy let Jean go, walking over to Ricky to give him a goodnight kiss. Ricky waited until his mother was out of sight to turn to Jean. "What was that about?" Ricky asked, smiling, his hands on his hips. Jean smirked. "Just girl talk." He joked. Ricky chuckled and rolled his eyes, glancing at his boys. "Where... where will I be sleeping, Ricky?" Jean asked, feeling very out of place. Ricky sighed and turned to Jean. "Well, I was supposed to take the couch so you could have my bed, but..." He guestured to the boys and smiled. Jean stood up straight. "I could sleep on the floor, I have no probl-" Jean started. Ricky cut him off. "No. You're a guest. I'll take the floor and you can have my bed." Jean couldn't help himself. "We could share the bed." He smiled. Ricky's head jerked up quickly, took a step back, and tripped over a toy truck. Jean giggled. "I was kidding, cowboy." He said, offering a hand to Ricky. He took his hand and Jean pulled him off the ground. "My room's upstairs." Ricky said, still holding onto Jean's hand. They stared at each other for a minute before Jean spoke. "Well, aren't you going to show me?" Ricky turned to the steps and led Jean up to his room. Ricky held onto Jean's hand still, and Jean's heart fluttered as he remembered that holding hands made Ricky feel very uncomfortable. He tried to take his hand back, but Ricky's hand was gripped so tightly around his, the only way Jean would get his hand back was if he had a crowbar to pry it off of him. Ricky stopped Jean in front of his room and smiled. "There's something I should tell you before we go in here." Ricky said and Jean's stomach flipped. "Oui?" Ricky smiled wider and opened the door. "This is my cougar, Karen." Jean's smile faltered as his eyes set onto the 300 pound cat. "Ricky, that thing could eat me in three bites!" Jean said, holding onto Ricky's hand harder. Ricky chuckled and dragged Jean into his room. "Karen won't eat you. Just... don't smell like meat and you'll be fine." Karen blinked and jumped off the bed, setting her sights on Jean. Karen circled around Jean, smelling him. "Isn't this what happens before it feasts on its prey?" Jean whimpered. Ricky chuckled again. It was funny that the only thing that could shake Jean was a cougar. "I'll put Karen in the bathroom. I'll be back." Ricky said, snapping at Karen to follow him. Jean waited until he couldn't hear Ricky's footsteps to let his guard down. He sat on Ricky's bed and glanced around the room. How odd was it that he was here? It felt like a dream... a very, very strange dream that he could be here with Ricky. The room was an utter mess, Jean decided as he tried to change the subject in his own mind. His eyes gazed over the mounds of dirty laundry that were thrown carelessly on the floor. It made him cringe, and there was also an urge to clean up the entire room. The only section of the room that was almost clean was the top of Ricky's dresser, where all of his pictures were. Pictures of his sons and his mother, newspaper clippings about the races he'd won, and pictures of his deadbeat father, Carley and Susan. That confused him. Hadn't Carley left Ricky for his best friend after he was fired? That should've been enough to hate her for eternity, but a very pretty picture of her with a genuine smile rested next to the picture of Susan. He stood up to get a closer look. Ricky didn't look anything like his father, which raised suspicion in his mind if that was even really Ricky's father. He did look like his mother, though. With the same pretty blue eyes that captivated his attention. "I don't have any pictures of them standing together." Ricky's voice snapped Jean back to reality. He tried to find words to say, but only could smile. "Momma never really forgave him for leaving her after I was born." The hurt in Ricky's voice pulled at Jean's heartstrings and he longed to comfort Ricky, even if it wouldn't help. He remembered vividly what it was like to be in Ricky's arms, his hands running up his back and longing to hold on as long as he could before it looked like cheating. Of course, that didn't help the fact that he was now divorced and it was because of a simple, close-lipped kiss. "Can you hear me?" Ricky waved a hand in front of Jean's face, once again snapping him back to reality. "I'm sorry, I was thinking." Jean said, feeling his face redden. Ricky's eyebrows burrowed and he walked over to his closet and began searching inside of it. "What were you thinking about? All of the sudden your eyes went blank and it kinda looked like you were having an episode or summat." Jean could've died from embarrassment. He never realized how his feelings read over to people when he thought of Ricky. Jean couldn't think of a lie fast enough. "Our kiss." He blurted out without thinking. He regretted the words, but couldn't help but laugh as Ricky pulled down a whole shelf of blankets out of shock. Jean raced over to him and starting pulling the blankets off of him. When Jean pulled a particularly feminine blanket off of Ricky's face, he smiled. Ricky was red in the face and trying hard not to burst out in laughter. "You pick the most interesting times to say stuff like that." He said, sitting up. Jean giggled and hugged the pink blanket to his chest, waiting for Ricky to say something else. "What made you think of the kiss?" He asked, making his way out of all the blankets. Jean grinned, helping Ricky escape the mangled blanket escapade. "I honestly do not remember." Jean answered, smiling. He glanced back up at Ricky, who was staring at him contently. "Do you think about it? Us?" Ricky opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Jean leaned closer to Ricky, closed his eyes and puckered his lips, ready to kiss the other man. Their foreheads touched and Ricky's hands found Jean's shoulders, holding him back. Jean's eyes opened slowly and he bit his lower lip. How embarrassed could he get in one night? Coming on to a straight man and trying to kiss him, bringing up their kiss and falling in love with a man he could never have? It was heartwrenching. Jean pulled away from Ricky, hiding his face. Ricky grabbed onto Jean's hand and he turned back to the southern man. "Of course I think about you." He answered, finally, pulling Jean towards him and kissing him hard on the mouth. Jean smiled into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Ricky's neck and deepening the kiss to his heart's extent. "It feels as if we will share the bed tonight." Jean whispered into Ricky's mouth. Ricky only kissed Jean harder. He finally understood Susan's words. No one could ever make him happier than Jean could. 


End file.
